St Joseph's sponsored fast for water and medical supplies for Gaza

Having raised a fantastic £2,400 in aid of Uisce for Gaza earlier this year, Derry’s St Joseph’s Boy’s School has undertaken a new new fundraising challenge for Palestine.

Since June 1, the whole school community has been collecting sponsorship for a fast to raise funds for water and medical supplies for Gaza.

Everyone one taking part in the St Joseph’ ‘Olive Branch for Gaza’ fast will fast for 24 hours or 12 hours, over the four days from Monday, June 16 to Thursday, June 19. The fundraiser will conclude on Thursday, June 19, with a coffee morning in the school from 9am until 11am.

St Joseph’s Uisce for Gaza donation went directly to Mohammad Alazzam, a teacher from Northern Gaza who “worked tirelessly to bring water to communities not serviced by mainstream humanitarian organisations due to their location”. Mohammad is a father, grandfather and former teacher who is currently displaced in Khan Younis in the Southern Gaza Strip.

In May, St Joseph’s shared a video on its social media platforms of ‘Truck number 392’ delivering the water its donations had paid for to the people of Gaza.

According to the co-organisers of the St Joseph’s ‘Olive Branch for Gaza’ - Mr Gerry McBride, who teaches IT and Ms Ann Marie Meehan, who teaches Spanish and French - the school has been inspired by the words of Pope Leo XIV who said: “I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entrance of dignified humanitarian aid to Gaza and to put an end to the hostilities”.
They added: “We are fasting in solidarity with the living and the dead of Gaza.”

“The aims of our fast are to raise awareness of the hunger, starvation, and approaching famine that has befallen the people of Gaza. We want to show solidarity with the people of Gaza in this period of extreme deprivation.

“We also want to get support from the people we meet to pressurise our elected representatives to call for a ceasefire to restore food supplies to Gaza. Without a ceasefire, there can be no or very little access to food or water.

“Our fast is also to raise funds for Uisce for Gaza (Water for Gaza) and Gaza Medical Aid.”

Donations can be made to St Joseph’s online fundraiser: Olive Branch for Gaza - https://gofund.me/34e64450

Donations can also be made by scanning this QR code.

St Joesph’s has received support for its ‘Olive Branch for Gaza’ fundraiser from far beyond the city.

In a letter thanking then students for inviting him to Thursday’s coffee morning, Jeremy Corbyn - former leader of the British Labour Party said: “I am afraid I need to attend a number of events in London on that particular day but I am honoured that you should invite me to such a worthwhile event.

“Well done to you for standing up for human rights in this way and it must be very rewarding for you to see that truck with the school name on the side,” added Mr Corbyn.

SDLP leader, Claire Hanna MP, praised the “excellent work” St Joseph’s had been doing around supporting Uisce for Palestine’.

“The video you shared is a big sign of hope, at a time when so many people are feeling helpless and desperate watching the harrowing scenes that we see on our screens about Gaza.”

“You should be so proud of your efforts and the very real difference that they are making to the lives of Palestinians.

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“I’d love to come to Derry to visit you but regrettably I can’t make Thursday morning due to existing commitments in my Diary in Belfast but I am happy to visit the school another time to hear about your fundraising work,” said Ms Hanna.
Siobhain Grogan, who is from Uisce for Gaza - which began as Kildare Palestine Solidarity Campaign Initiative - described the boys of St Joseph’s as “citizens of the world”.

“Hopefully the kids in your school when they look back in years to come, they will be proud that when other people turned away and turned a blind eye, that they did something.

“They stood up for the children and people of Gaza.”